The Crown Estate has announced a further £15 million of early-stage development funding through its Supply Chain Accelerator, opening new opportunities for offshore wind supply chain businesses across the UK.
This third funding round builds on the success of previous rounds, which have already allocated nearly £18 million to 26 organisations. Supported projects range from an operations and maintenance hub in Port Talbot to a floating offshore wind test centre in Orkney, demonstrating the breadth of innovation taking place across the sector.
Open to projects UK-wide, businesses can now apply for up to 50% match funding, with awards between £250,000 and £2 million to support early-stage development activity. Applications close on 3 July.
For Wales, and particularly the Celtic Sea region, this funding represents a valuable opportunity to strengthen supply chain capabilities, support innovation, and maximise the economic benefits of the energy transition.
Find out more here.
Julia Rose, Head of Offshore Wind at The Crown Estate, said:
“Maintaining the UK’s world-leading position in the offshore wind sector relies on ensuring the supply chain is able to support the large-scale construction, deployment and maintenance of offshore wind infrastructure in the pipeline.
“Our Accelerator programme, in alignment with investments from other organisations into the supply chain, is providing the financial support many early-stage projects require to help scale up from ambition to reality. We’re very pleased to be launching a third funding round and continue the exciting progress already made through the first two rounds.”
Great British Energy’s Director of Supply Chains Rob Gilbert said:
“This announcement is a significant moment for the UK’s offshore wind supply chain as it scales to deliver our ambitious domestic project pipeline and capitalise on the export opportunities for clean energy capabilities built here in Britain.
“As the Supply Chain Accelerator enters its third round, Great British Energy will continue working closely with The Crown Estate through our £1 billion Energy, Engineered in the UK Programme to ensure innovative businesses can access the support they need to grow, creating jobs and delivering a cheaper, more secure energy system.”
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said:
“Events in the Middle East underline just how vulnerable we are to volatile fossil fuel markets, with price shocks creating real uncertainty for families and businesses here in the UK.
“By investing in British infrastructure and innovation, we can reduce that exposure, boost energy security, and ensure the benefits of clean, homegrown power are felt in communities right across the country from Blyth to Port Talbot and Orkney.”